


To The Stars and Back

by chilledmasonjar



Series: Deaf Peter Parker [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Boys In Love, Deaf Character, Deaf Peter Parker, Dialogue Heavy, First Date, First Kiss, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Married Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, More tags to be added, No Beta, One Big Happy Family, Parent Stephen Strange, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker uses ASL, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange Parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family, Tony is a sap, We Die Like Men, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Rings, Weddings, i want to go on a planetarium date :(, planetarium date, stephen is a sap, they’re finally husband’s, they’re still idiots in love, wedding vows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:46:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27543298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chilledmasonjar/pseuds/chilledmasonjar
Summary: a purely self indulgent fic where tony asks stephen on a date because they’ve been in love since high school but they’re both dumbasses who never did anything about it
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Deaf Peter Parker [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961752
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi i wrote this instead of doing my english work and now i’m posting it from my phone during lunch. it will probably only be 3-5 chapters, but i have no idea. it was originally going to be a oneshot, but i had more ideas for this and i wouldn’t be able to do it justice with a oneshot
> 
> also i’ll reformat it later once i’m home and not on my phone

Tony had loved Stephen since they first met in high school. However, Tony didn’t realize just how in love he was until he saw Stephen go on a rant about space and how much he loved it. It was then when Tony realized where their first date would be. If Tony ever asked, that is. Tony decided that today was the day, and that he didn’t want to wait any longer.

They were walking out of human anatomy together. Tony didn’t technically need the class, but he wanted to spend more time with Stephen. They walked towards Tony’s car, where they would drive back to the apartment that they shared with Rhodey. 

“Hey, Steph, I wanted to ask you something real quick,” Tony said, stepping into the car. Stephen hummed in acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything. “Would you like to go on a date? With me, I mean.”

“Tony, did you just ask me on a date? Like, a romantic date?” Stephen asked and panic grew in Tony’s chest. He knows that Stephen is gay, but maybe Tony isn’t his type. Tony nodded, not trusting his voice. “I would love to. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to ask me, you know.”

“You knew? You knew this whole time and didn’t say anything?” Tony stared in both relief and shock.

“I had my suspicions,” Stephen laughed. “So, when were you thinking?”

“Well, what about this Saturday? I know for a fact that we’re both free.”

“I think that sounds amazing,” Stephen smiled at Tony and leaned back as Tony started to drive away. Both of them were smiling like idiots.

As soon as they walked into the apartment, Rhodey knew something happened. 

“Holy shit, did you finally do it, Tones?” Rhodey asked immediately, knowing that Tony has loved Stephen for forever. Both Tony and Stephen smiled, Tony eagerly nodded and Stephen ducked his head down. “Fucking finally, man. I’m tired of hearing you pine over Strange. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for guys, but it’s about damn time.”

“Well, I have a paper to write, so I’ll see you guys for dinner,” Stephen said, making his way to his room. There was still a smile on his face as he walked away. The second he shut his door, Rhodey turned to Tony. 

“So, where are you going to take him? Have you thought about it yet?”

“Honeybear, I’ve had this date planned for years now. I know that you know that,” Tony punched Rhodey’s shoulder then went to sit on the couch.

“I know, but just humor me. I know you probably have everything worked out already, but I still want to hear the plan,” Rhodey joined Tony on the couch. “If you’re worried he’ll over hear us, you and I both know that he listens to music too loud. Wow, you guys really are perfect for each other.”

Tony laughed and agreed, then he started to go through the plan for what felt like the hundredth time. Hell, it may be his hundredth time talking about this plan with Rhodey. It’s taken years of fine tuning on Tony’s part, and it was finally going to pay off. He went over everything with Rhodey. From where they were going to what he was going to wear and how we hoped Stephen would react. 

They talked about the plan for about an hour. Rhodey even came up with a name for the plan, just in case they had to talk about it infront of Stephen. From now on, they would strictly refer to it as “star trip” and nothing else. . 

“Hey, Strange. How’s your paper coming?” Rhodey asked as Stephen walked out of his room.

“It was a pain in my ass, but it’s done. What’s for dinner tonight?”

“I’m going to start cooking soon, anything in particular you want?” Tony looked up from his spot on the couch. 

“This is probably going to sound like an odd request, but could you make your mom’s lasagna?” Stephen seemed to huddle into himself as Tony stood, walking over to him. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Yeah, I can do that. I’m pretty sure I still have some of the sauce she sent me back with. It’ll take a little while to thaw, so dinner will probably be ready in about two hours, maybe two and a half. That work for everyone?” Tony stood in front of Stephen, wanting to reach out to him. He held himself back though.

“Yeah, that sound’s good,” Stephen replied, staring into Tony’s eyes. “Do you need any help?”

“I don’t think I need any help, but I would love some company,” Tony said, taking a step back towards the kitchen.

Tony walked into the kitchen with Stephen following behind him. Rhodey watched as the two love sick idiots walked away, glad that they finally got their shit somewhat together. He knew that they each loved each other, but had realized it at separate times. Tony knew when Stephen went on that rant about space. Stephen didn’t get the chance to realize it himself. 

Over Thanksgiving a few years ago, Tony and Stephen went to the Strange household. Rhodey was going to come with them, but something came up at home that he couldn’t leave. Either way, Stephen’s love was obvious enough that Donna pulled him aside after dinner and confronted him. From her point of view, it seemed like Tony and Stephen were already dating, and had been for years, and she was mad that she didn’t know. Stephen explained that no, they definitely aren’t dating. Later that night, Stephen laid awake thinking about what it would be like to tell Donna that they were dating. His heart grew twenty sizes and that's when he realized he would do whatever he could to be with that man.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys finally go on their date and rhodey is essentially their mom at this point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp i definitely didnt mean or this chapter to be over 3000 words yet here we are. hope y’all enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it :)

Saturday before either of them either knew it. Well, Tony knew it. He had been counting down the days until his date with Stephen. Funnily enough, Stephen had also been keeping a closer eye on the day. Not that there was any correlation, of course.

When they woke up that morning, they were both full of excitement. They had the full day ahead of them before their date that night and neither of them knew what to do. In the end, they ended up going to a movie at Rhodey’s suggestion. 

The minute they got back, they both raced towards their rooms to shower and get ready. Rhodey just stood back and laughed at the pair. Since they already technically live together, Tony and Stephen decided that Tony would pick Stephen up at his bedroom door instead of the front door. 

“Hey, Tones, open up. It’s me,” Rhodey said while pushing open the door slightly. He stepped in when the gap was large enough. The first thing he noticed was the pile of clothes thrown on the bed. The next thing Rhodey noticed was Tony laying face down on the bed, wearing nothing but a towel. “Tony?”

“I don’t know what to fucking wear,” he mumbled into the bed, not bothering to pick his head up. “All of my clothes look like shit and he’s going to look amazing and he’s going to cancel the date when he sees me.”

“Tones, calm down. I promise you that he’s not going to cancel on you just because of what you wear. I’m sure he’s doing the same thing across the hall right now,” Rhodey walked over to the side, sitting next to Tony. He pulled on his shoulder some, encouraging him to sit up. “Do you need me to pick out an outfit for you?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I think so. Just don’t make me look stupid, okay?” 

“I promise that I won’t, but I’m going to check on Stephen to make sure he isn’t spiraling downwards over an outfit like you,” Rhodey said as he went to the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Rhodey opened the door and stepped back out. He walked across the hall and knocked on the door. He heard a mumble, and took that as a go head to walk in. He almost burst out laughing when he walked in. Stephen was almost exactly how Tony was. Once again, he saw clothes laying on the bed with Stephen laying in a towel next to the pile. The only difference was that Stephen was on his back instead of his front.

“Everything okay, Stephen?” Rhodey had to hold back a laugh. These dumbasses were perfect for eachother, without question. 

“I don’t know what to wear,” Stephen said, also opting not to look up at Rhodey. “He’s going to look amazing and I’m going to look like I rolled out of a garbage can.” Rhodey burst out laughing, thinking about how Tony said almost the same thing. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t spiralling downwards on the outfit. Seems to me like you are, just like I expected,” Rhodey walked over to the bed and sat down. “I promise you that you’re going to look great no matter what you wear. I can also promise you that Tony is worrying about the same thing across the hall.”

“Bullshit, he always looks amazing. He doesn’t even have to try.”

“He’ll probably kill me for telling you this, but he thinks the same thing about you. Now, sit up,” Rhodey stood back up as Stephen sat up. 

“What should I wear?” 

“Something casual that you would wear any other day. Okay, maybe not any other day since you usually wear sweatpants to class, but nice jeans and a shirt.”

“Thank you, Rhodey,” Stephen said as he stood up, immediately walking over to his dresser. Rhodey just nodded at the man and walked out.

He didn’t even bother knocking on the door this time. When he walked in, he noticed that Tony had plopped back down on his bed. But he had made some progress, as he now had jeans and socks on. 

“I see that you decided to dress yourself after all,” Rhodey said to make his presence known. Tony sat back up to look at him.

“No, I didn’t. All I did was put some jeans on. I still have no idea what shirt to wear.”

“Don’t worry about that, I know just the one,” Rhodey went over to the others closet, intending to grab a shirt out before realizing it was on the bed. Once he found it, he held it out to him, telling him, “Tones, put this on.”

The shirt that Rhodey handed him was a simple, black AC/DC shirt. It was one that he wore all the time, far too much to be acceptable for a date.

“Honeybear, I can’t wear this. I literally wear this all the time, he’ll think I’m being lazy and don’t care about this enough,” Tony complained.

“Tones, shut up and put the shirt on. You’re both dressing casually, as if it was any other day. I promise that he won’t think that you don’t care.”

“Fine,” Tony took the shirt off the hanger and slipped it on. “I feel like I need a jacket.”

“Here, put this one on. Yes, I know that you wear it all the time, but we’ve been over this,” Rhodey said, knowing what Tony was about to say. Rhodey threw a leather jacket at Tony, and it just happened to be Tony’s favorite one. Rhodey knew this, of course. That’s why he picked it. He knew that it would give him the confidence boost that he needed. “Put your Doc Martens on. It’ll go well with the rest of the look.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Tony said, walking over to the closest to grab them. “Thanks, platypus.”

“Of course. Now, I’m going to see if Stephen needs anything before you guys leave,” Tony nodded, bending down to lace his boots. Once again, Rhodey walked out of the room and across the hall. He did, however, knock on the door. Just in case Stephen was getting dressed. He heard a muffled “come in,” so he pushed the door open. Stephen was farther along than Tony was. He had both jeans and a shirt already on and he was standing in front of his closet, presumably looking for a jacket. Rhodey was right, Stephen grabbed a jacket out as he closed the door. 

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I think so. I just need to put some shoes on,” Stephen replied, sitting on his bed. “It doesn’t look like I don’t care, right?”

“Not at all. I think that he’ll love it,” Rhodey replied honestly.

“Really? Don’t bullshut me, Rhodey,” Stephen’s voice was stern and full of worry. Stephen was acting as if the two didn’t already live together. Like they didn’t already know everything about each other and haven’t been in love for forever. 

“I promise that I’m not bullshitting you, Stephen.”

“Thank you, Rhodey. I’m just anxious about it. What if I mess it up?”   


“Stephen, you could literally burn the place down and he would still lo- want to go on a date with you,” Rhodey said, quickly catching himself before he said that Tony loved Stephen. Sure, the two were obvious as hell, but only to Rhodey. He doubted that either of them actually knew how deeply the other felt. If Stephen head Rhodey’s almost slip up, he doesn’t mention it. 

“Okay. Well, I definitely won’t do that, so we’re good,” Stephen breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I’ll leave you to finish getting ready. You’ve got this,” Rhodey walked over to the door, opened it, then walked back across the hall. Stephen flopped back onto his bed. He wasn’t as nervous anymore, but there was still some left over nerves. 

Tony was finally dressed when Rhodey walked back in. He was in the bathroom, fretting over his hair and brushing his teeth. Rhodey resisted the urge to slap Tony’s hands away from his head. Mainly because Tony would do it either way. 

“Hey, platypus.”

“Hey, Tones. You almost ready?” 

“I’m ready, I’m just brushing my teeth and dicking around with my hair. Before you say it, I already know it looks fine, just let me live.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything. I know you’re anxious about this, but I promise that he’ll love it. You and I both know that.”

“I know, I know,” Tony walked out of the bathroom, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Have you seen my wallet?”

“Yeah, it’s where you literally always put it. I’ll go grab it for you,” Rhodey said as he stood. He heard Tony say ‘thank you,’ but was out the door before he could respond. 

Rhodey was back a few seconds later, holding Tony’s wallet in his hand. He threw the wallet at his friend, who almost didn’t catch it. He did, though, and he immediately stuck it in his pocket. He nodded as he did so. 

“Alright, get out of here. Go pick up Stephen from his bedroom and leave, I don’t want to see either of you anymore,” Rhodey laughed as he pushed his friend out of his room. Once out of the room, however, Tony immediately walked over to the living room. He paced a little bit and then walked over to Stephen’s door. He brought his hand up and knocked before he could stop himself. Stephen opened the door a few seconds later. 

“You look amazing,” Tony said immediately. 

“Thank you. You look wonderful,” Stephen replied. Rhodey, who was standing in the corner watching them, could feel the anxiety radiating off the pair. 

“Are you ready to go?” Tony walked out of the way, heading to the kitchen and grabbing his keys. Stephen followed behind him.

“ Yeah, I am,” Stephen rubbed his hands on the front of his jeans.

“Wait, before you guys go, I want to tell you something,” Rhodey stopped them before they could go. “I want you guys back here before two, okay? Also don’t do anything stupid.”

“We’ll be fine, mom,” Tony said jokingly. “Let’s go, Steph, I don’t want to be late.” 

Stephen nodded at Tony and waved goodbye to Rhodey. The pair walked down to where Tony’s car was parked together. Since Stephen didn’t have a car, they would have to take Tony’s.

“So, do I get to know where we’re going yet?” Stephen asked a few minutes into the drive.

“Nope. You don’t get to know until we’re there. Trust me?” Tony looked over at the med student and smiled. 

“With hesitance, yes, I trust you.” Tony looked back over at him and gave him another smile. Any hesitation that Stephen had melted away at that smile. They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, just enjoying being with each other.

That was one thing that they each valued about the relationship they already had. They could talk about everything and nothing for hours on end and still have things to talk about. On the other hand though, they could also sit in silence for hours, just enjoying each other’s company. 

Tony pulled into the parking spot and got out of the car, walking around to Stephen’s door to open it for him. Stephen thanked him and almost immediately tripped while getting out. Luckily, Tony caught him before he fell. A blush quickly spread over their faces. Stephen mumbled out another “thanks” as he got back on his own feet. 

“Where are we, Tony?” Stephen was looking up at the building, but was struggling to see any name. The building had a large dome, which should have been a huge hint, but it didn’t click for Stephen.

“We’re at the planetarium. I don’t know if you remember this, but back in high school you went on a rant about how much you loved looking at the stars, and just how much you love space in general. I remembered you saying that the biggest adjustment after moving here was not being able to see the stars at night and how much you missed it. I hope I’m not overstepping, but I thought that you might like this,” Tony rambled as Stephen started walking towards him. When Tony was within reaching distance, Stephen immediately pulled him into a hug. It wasn’t one like they had before. No, this was an almost bone-crushing, love filled hug. Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen just as tight.

“Thank you, Tony. I think you’re the one person that actually remembered that,” Stephen was practically whispering. “You’re not overstepping at all. I love it.”

“I’m glad, I was really afraid that you would think I was being weird or that I would scare you off.”

“You won’t scare me off, I promise,” Stephen started to loosen his arms, intending to pull away. Tony reluctantly unwrapped his arms.

“As long as you’re sure. Now, shall we go inside?”

“We shall,” Stephen replied and Tony grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the door. They were both smiling and laughing, glad that this was finally happening. 

Tony held the door open, letting Stephen walk in before him. Tony walked in behind him and grabbed his hand again. They walked over to a second door, one that led to where they would actually watch the presentation. Once inside, they walked over to two seats and sat next to each other. They held each other’s hand the entire time, not wanting to let go. 

Tony watched Stephen more than the actual show. He watched the way Stephen’s eyes and smile shone as bright as the stars. He realized that there was nowhere he’d rather be than by Stephen’s side for as long as possible. 

In turn, Stephen would also look over at Tony, watching how his eyes lit up as he watched the constellations dance above their heads. Stephen already knew that he wanted to be by Tony’s side forever, but this just solidified that. 

At one point, they each looked over at the same time. Instead of quickly turning away, like Stephen wanted to, they shared a soft, sweet, full of emotion smile that made each of them melt. 

About an hour later, once the show was over, Tony and Stephen were walking out of the building hand-in-hand. Both of them were smiling like idiots, but neither of them cared. They walked back to Tony’s car and, once again, Tony held the door open for Stephen. 

A few minutes into the drive, Tony asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Honestly, not really. We can stop and get something if you’d like, though.”

“I’m not super hungry either, I just wanted to make sure that you aren’t,” Tony was silent for a few seconds. “Did you like the planetarium?”

“I had a lot of fun. Honestly, I had forgotten how much I liked looking at the stars and how much I miss it.”

“I’m glad you liked it. I’ve spent so long trying to come up with the perfect date, and then I was worried that I was overstepping. I didn’t realize how weird it sounded that I remembered that until I was saying it out loud.”

“I don’t think it's weird at all, Tony. I think it’s actually really sweet how you remembered that and used it to come up with the perfect date,” Stephen put his hand on top of Tony’s since it was resting on the console. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take to come up with this?”

Tony hesitated, not sure if he should tell Stephen how long he’d actually been planning this date. In the end, he told him the truth, “Since the day that you went on that rant. I’ve been finetuning it, I guess you could say, since then.”

“You’ve been planning this for six years?” Stephen asked, shock in his voice. “Tony, why the hell didn’t you ask me earlier!”

“Because I was afraid. I wasn’t even planning to ask you on Wednesday, it just happened. Before I knew it, I was asking and slightly panicking.”

“Tony, there was no need to worry. I had a deal with myself that if you never asked by the end of this year, then I would ask you. But, you beat me to it,” Stephen never moved his hand off of Tony’s, just gripped it a little tighter. “Which, for the record, I’m glad you did. My idea was nowhere near as throughout.”

“What’s your idea? Because it’s your turn to plan the next date,” Tony didn’t realize what those words did to Stephen. It showed Stephen that Tony really wanted to be with him, and that he trusted him.

“It was going to be dinner and then a walk in the park. It sounds stupid now that I’m saying it out loud.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid at all, Steph. I think it sounds like an amazing date,” Tony glanced over at Stephen, giving him a reassuring smile. 

“Are you sure?” Stephen asked and Tony nodded. “Well, how does next Saturday sound? Assuming nothing comes up, of course.”

“I think that sounds absolutely amazing,” Tony glanced at Stephen again, giving him that same smile. They were back at their apartment now, so Tony once again opened Stephen’s door for him. “Same way as tonight?”

“That sounds perfect,” Stephen smiled, opening the main door for Tony this time. They walked to the elevator together, hand-in-hand once again. They stood in the elevator in silence, enjoying each other’s company. 

When they got to their front door, Tony pulled out his keys first, opening the door for Stephen for the final time that night. Rhodey was sitting on the couch watching a movie, despite it being way later than he usually stays up. 

“Hey, love birds,” he said over his shoulder, not saying anything else. Tony and Stephen walked to Stephen’s bedroom door, stopping just before Stephen went in.

“Thank you again, Tony. I had a really fun time,” Stephen said. “I’m excited for next Saturday.”

“I am, too. I’m glad you had fun tonight, Steph,” Tony was nervous again, debating if he should kiss Stephen or not. He was about to lose his chance though, as Stephen was turning to open his door. Tony reached out to stop him, pulling him in before either of them realized. It was soft, sweet, and full of emotion, just like the smile they shared earlier in the night. 

“Good night, Tony,” Stephen whispered before kissing Tony’s forehead and walking through the door. Tony said good night back, but his voice barely worked. He could melt right there and be fine with it. However, he didn’t melt. Just walked over to the living room and plopped on the couch next to Rhodey.

“Tell me about it, how was it?” Rhodey asked, once again not bothering to look up at Tony. Tony immediately went into a retelling of the date, leaving almost nothing out. He did, however, leave out the part about Stephen tripping into his arms, mainly for the other’s pride. Tony talked for about half an hour while Rhodey occasionally interjected. The movie was off, but he had turned to Tony in order to show he was paying attention. 

At the end of the night, Tony and Rhodey each went into their separate rooms. Tony laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the kiss until he fell asleep. He had already started thinking about how he would propose, assuming they would make it that long. Tony had a strong feeling that they would. At least, he was hopeful.

Stephen was also staring at the ceiling in his room, also thinking about the date, both tonight’s and the one that he now had to finish planning. Not that he minded, of course. He was ecstatic for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this only applies to two people, so if you aren’t nostril or suitcase you can just ignore this
> 
> does this make up for the angst i sent


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is set way after they graduated college
> 
> they’ve lived together for forever, but tony realizes that there’s still one thing thats missing. so, he obviously had to change that, roping their son in along the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it, this chapter (and sort of the next one) is the entire reason i started writing this fic in the first place. this chapter took a lot longer than i expected it too, but once. got off my ass and actually wrote it wasn’t too bad. anyways, i hope you enjoy both this chapter and more deaf!peter content :)
> 
> sorry that this took so long to get out, but i had other life things that i had to deal with. i also got lazy and forgot about this for a little while, oops

It was a calm morning in the tower. Well, as calm as they could get. Tony and Stephen were standing in the kitchen while they made breakfast for their son, Peter. Peter, on the other hand, was pacing around the kitchen, frantically signing about a test that he had that day. 

Stephen stepped away from Tony’s side at the counter, walking over to their son. Peter looked up at his pops, who reached up to grab his frantic hands. 

“ _ Pete, it’s going to be fine. I promise you _ ,” Stephen signed. He made sure to look Peter in the eyes, even though he was looking down to know what his pops said. Once his pops finished, he looked up to look his pops in the eye. 

“ _ Thank you, pops _ ,” Peter signed. Something that Tony and Stephen realized shortly after meeting and adopting Peter was that there was only one sign for dad. So, Tony became “mechanic dad” and Stephen became “doctor dad.” Tony and Stephen both melted every time.

“ _ Peter, I love you, but you have to go to school. Happy’s waiting in the garage and you’re going to be late if you don’t leave. now, _ ” Tony signed over Stephen’s shoulder, saying it as well so Stephen knew what was going on. Peter’s eyes widened as he pulled away to grab his backpack and run out the door. The last thing that Tony and Stephen saw was their son’s hand waving “I love you” as the door shut. 

“I love him, but he has absolutely no sense of time,” Stephen said, going back to help his partner make breakfast. Despite being together since college, they’ve never gotten around to getting married. Both of them wanted to get married, but it never really came up.

“He gets that from me, obviously,” they both laughed and enjoyed the silence that followed. “Let’s do something this weekend. Something as a family.”

“I think I could agree to that, depending on where. What are you thinking of doing, love?” Stephen said as he walked over to the couch, sitting in his usual spot. Tony followed him over, immediately laying down on his partner once he was close enough. 

“I have an idea in mind. It’s one that I think both you and Pete will like a lot.”

“Do I get to know where?”

“Nope, it’s a surprise. Spider-Baby already knows and is on board with it too.”

“So our kid gets to know but not me?’

“That’s correct,  _ mio stella _ ,” the nickname alone should've given it away, but it flew right over Stephen’s head. “What about this Saturday? I know for a fact that we’re all free.”

If Stephen had been a little more awake, then he would’ve noticed the parallels between the first time Tony asked him out and now. However, he had only had half a cup of tea so far. 

Saturday came before anyone in their small family knew it. Tony was nervous as hell, Peter was excited, and Stephen was still in the dark. Tony had spent an hour talking to Rhodey the night before to let him know that it was finally happening. 

“Tony, love, since you haven’t told me anything about this, what should I wear?” Stephen yelled from inside their closet. 

“Jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe that jacket that you usually wear when you don’t choose Levi.”

“I take it that Levi isn’t invited on this trip?” Stephen asked as he grabbed the jacket out. It was one of his favorites. Mainly because it was the jacket he wore to his and Tony’s first date. He grabbed some jeans and a shirt too, throwing them on their bed before he did the same with his shoes. 

“I feel like this would be a little easier without them there. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, I just want this to go as smooth as possible,” Tony walked out of their bathroom in jeans and a shirt, leather jacket thrown over his shoulder. He smiled at both of their jacket choices, knowing what would be happening later tonight. 

“I’ll have to take your word on it since you still haven’t told me what’s going on.”

“I love you, babe, but you’re not finding out until we’re there,” Tony gave Stephen a quick kiss, knowing that there would be plenty of time for more later. Assuming that everything was going to go to plan, of course. 

They finished getting dressed and walked out to the living room. They thought that Peter was still getting ready, but quickly realized that that wasn’t the case when they saw their son walking down the wall from the ceiling to greet them.

“ _ Peter, how many times do I have to tell you not to walk on the ceiling or walls? _ ” Tony signed.

“ _ You said not to do it with shoes on, and my shoes are over by the door,” _ Tony and Stephen immediately looked towards the front door, only to see that their son was telling the truth. Tony just shook his head and looked down before he signed, “ _ Are you ready to go, Spider-Baby? _ ”

“ _ Yeah, just let me put my shoes on real quick, _ ” Peter didn’t wait for a response and immediately ran to the door to put his shoes on. Once on, he stood there, waiting for his dads to walk over so they could finally leave. 

They all went down towards the garage and walked over to one of Tony’s cars. Stephen was surprised to see Tony get in the driver’s seat instead of Happy. Tony made sure to pick one of his safer cars, wanting to soothe as much of Stephen’s anxiety about driving as he could. Stephen slid into the passenger seat and Peter stumbled into the back. 

They drove in mostly silence, just the radio playing lightly to keep Tony and Stephen from going insane. It was a comfortable silence, but Tony was about to explode from nerves. 

A few minutes later, Tony pulled into the parking lot. Stephen looked up at the building, immediately realizing where they were. Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked over at Tony, who was smiling at him.

“I’m not overstepping, am I?” Tony signed along for Peter’s benefit, despite him not understanding why that was so funny to his dads. 

“No, not at all, my love. I think that it’s amazing.”

“I’m glad,” Tony smiled and got out, walking over to Stephen’s door and opening it. Stephen laughed and got out, thanking Tony as he did so. The trio walked to the front of the building, Tony once again opening the door.

They walked over to the door where they would watch the show. Peter wouldn’t know what was being said about the stars, but he didn’t mind. Tony and Stephen sat down, immediately reaching out to hold hands once they did. Peter sat next to Tony, who wrapped his arm around his shoulders. 

As the show ended, the stars didn’t fade away and the lights didn’t turn on like how they were supposed to. Instead, Tony stood up, took a few steps, and knelt down. Stephen realized what he was doing as he pulled out a ring from his front pocket. Stephen looked over at their son to see that he was standing too, but a few steps away with a camera pointed at them. Peter gave him a big, toothy, smile as he turned back to Tony.

“Steph, I have loved you since that day when you went on a rant about how much you loved space and watching the stars. I think that I had been in love with you longer than that, but that’s when I realized it. Ever since then, I had our first date planned. Then, after we got back that night, Rhodey and I spent hours talking about how one day I would eventually propose to you,” Tony looked towards Peter, who gave a thumbs up despite having no idea what was being said right now. 

“I’m sorry that it took me so long to get off my ass and actually propose. That’s the one thing that I would change about our relationship, honestly. Rhodey and Pepper always yell at me for not having done this sooner and they’re right. I should have done this years ago. But, I’d like to think that it’s better late than never. So, even though we’re practically already married, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?” 

“Yes, you asshole. Of course I’ll marry you,” Stephen stood up, followed shortly by Tony. This kiss was much like their first kiss. It was full of promises and love. They each reached up, Tony cupping Stephen’s cheek and Stephen resting his hand on the back of Tony’s head. 

They broke apart and Tony grabbed Stephen’s hand. He slid on a band. It was simple and silver, but it had an arc reactor engraved on it with a sapphire in the middle. Later, when Stephen was looking at it before bed, he would realize that there was something engraved on the inside. It simply said “ _ To The Stars and Back _ ,” something they started saying long before they ever said “I love you.”

It was then that they were reminded of their son standing off to the side. He had stopped recording, so he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Tony looked up and nodded at the teen, watching as a huge smile spread across his face. In the next second, he was standing right there with his dads, all wrapped in a giant hug. 

Later on that night, they all watched the video over. This time, however, Tony had FRIDAY add captions so that Peter could understand what was going on. Tony felt bad for not signing what he was saying in the moment as he usually did, but Peter made sure to reassure him that it was fine, he had more important things to deal with at the time. 

Tony looked over at his fiancé, only to find Stephen was already looking at him. They smiled, ready to share the rest of their lives together. They would have done that anyways, but now they got to share how much they love each other with everyone they knew. Not that they didn’t already know, though.

That night as they laid sweatily in bed, they realized that there was no other way for their relationship to have gone. If they had gotten married earlier, then they probably would have never met Peter, let alone adopt him and raise him. They thought that their life was perfect before, but now it was only going to get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmk what your favorite part of this chapter was! reading comments gives me serotonin and i especially could use some of that right now


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s time for a wedding !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first, i feel like i need to apologize for this taking so damn long djajdjs i took a break to write other stuff, and my break ended up being much much longer than i thought
> 
> i was definitely crying a little bit as i wrote this, theyre just so damn happy and it’s everything they deserve because i declared it

Tony was pacing back and forth in the room as Rhodey and Maria tried to get him to calm down. Nothing was working, but it was still worth a shot. They all knew that the only thing that would be able to get Tony to calm down was seeing either Peter or Stephen. Since Peter was currently with Stephen, Tony would have to wait a little while longer to see them. 

“Anthony, come sit down. There is no need for you to be wearing a hole in the floor,” Maria said from her spot on the couch.

“Mamma, you and I both know that I have a perfectly good reason to wear a hole in the floor. In a little over an hour I’m getting married to the love of my life after waiting too damn long,” Tony took a seat on the couch anyways, immediately leaning his head on Rhodey’s shoulder. “What if he decides he doesn’t want to marry me anymore?”

“You two have been together for forever and he hasn’t left you. I’m pretty confident when I say that he wants to marry you,” Rhodey looked down at his brother. “He stood by your side after Afghanistan, after the Avengers broke up, and so much more. You two adopted Peter before you realized he was deaf and the second that you found out, he was immediately learning ASL with you. He’s committed to you, Tony. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Thank you, honeybear. Jesus, I don’t know what I would do without him,” Tony sat back up as someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”

No one walked in, so there was only one person who it could be. Tony got up to open the door, excited to see his son on the other side of it, just like he expected.

_ “Hey, Pete. How’s pops?” _ Tony knew that his son had just come from Stephen’s room.

_ “He’s nervous, but good. How are you, dad?” _

__ _ “Nervous as hell, honestly. But I have Nonna and Uncle Rhodey to pester,” _ Tony signed, laughing as he did so. Peter followed suit and smiled.  _ “And your pops has your Nana and Aunt Donna to annoy the hell out of.” _

__ “Tony, stop cursing around your son,” Maria said as she stood up from the couch. She signed the words too, not wanting her grandson to be left out.  _ “Hello, Peter. How are you?” _

__ _ “I’m good, Nonna. How annoying has dad been?”  _ Peter smiled as Tony gaped at his son. Maria started laughing.

_ “Exactly as you expected him to be, _ ” Maria signed as she laughed at her son, who was still gaping at his son. She turned to Tony, not signing anymore, but she knew that Peter would still read her lips. “Finish getting ready, Anthony. I’m going to try and find something to drink.”

“Okay, mamma, ti amo,” Tony kissed his mom on the cheek before turning back to his son and signing,  _ “Are you going to wear your hearing aids during the ceremony?” _

__ _ “Yeah, I will. They’re in my pocket right now, I’ll probably put them on as we head out there,” _ Tony knew that even though Peter had top of the line hearing aids, made by Tony himself, of course, Peter only liked to wear them when he needed to. Which was fine, everyone in his life knew ASL for this reason.

_ “Sound’s good, Pete, _ ” Tony pulled his son into a hug, kissing his temple as he did. He pulled back a bit, both hands resting on his shoulders. Neither of them had to say or sign anything to know what the other meant. They pulled away from each other, Tony going to sit with Rhodey and Peter walking towards the door again. Peter turned and waved at his dad before walking out the door, heading back to his pops room.

“You and Stephen have done a good job raising him. I don’t tell you that enough,” Rhodey said, breaking the silence that had settled between the pair. 

“Thanks, honeybear. It helps that he was easy to raise, honestly. I don’t know what we would’ve done if he had been a monster child,” Tony laughed, looking at Rhodey before laying his head on his shoulder. 

“It definitely would’ve been a challenge.” They sat there in a comfortable silence, enjoying the other’s company for a while. Neither of them are sure how much time had passed, but eventually Maria walked back in the room with a bottle of water for each of them. She placed Tony’s on the dresser, seeing as her son had fallen asleep against his brother’s shoulder. They all knew that they would have to wake him up eventually, but they silently decided to let him rest for a few minutes. 

Rhodey nodded his head in thanks as Maria handed him the water, opening it and taking a sip before just holding it. Maria sat on the other side of her son, kissing his temple before succumbing to the comfortable silence in the room. 

That same comfortable silence was not found in Stephen’s room. Well, it was mostly silent for Peter. He could just barely hear the muddled together voices as he sat on the bed, Levi wrapped around his shoulders comfortingly. 

Peter watched as his Aunt Donna raced around his pops, his Nana right behind her. He wasn’t quite sure what they were doing since he couldn’t hear their words, but it seemed like they were practically yelling. His pops on the other hand, stood there and watched as his mom and sister scrambled around him. Peter knew that his calm exterior was nothing more than that, a calm mask to hide the panic he felt inside. Peter stood and walked over to him, arms open out in front of him. Stephen smiled, instantly pulling his son into a hug, a shaking hand coming to rest at the base of his neck to pull him into his Pops’ chest. 

“Thank you, spiderling,” Stephen whispered in his hair, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hear it. Either way, he had to thank his son, imagining that he would know what he said nonetheless. Peter nodded against his chest, indicating that he at least sort of understood. At the very least, he understood the emotion that Stephen put into the simple gesture of running his hand through his curls some. 

Peter took a step back, Stephen’s hands still resting on his shoulders as he reached into his pocket for his hearing aids. He knew it was going to be loud, and probably slightly overstimulating until he got used to it, but he wanted to try and make it easier on his pops to have a conversation. As he was about to put them in, he could tell that his Nana and Aunt Donna had stopped yelling. Peter looked up at his pops, who was telling them to shut up so they didn’t send Peter into sensory overload the second he had them in. He shot a grateful smile as he turned them on, the low hum of the devices immediately present in his ears, followed shortly by Stephen’s voice. 

“Welcome back to the land of the hearing, spiderling,” Stephen laughed, pulling Peter close to press a kiss to his forehead. “I guarantee that you’ll regret that in a few minutes.”

“Hey,” Donna said with a teasing smile, “be nice to me, I’m your sister.”

“Exactly, you’re my sister. It’s literally my job as your older brother to be a pain in the ass,” Stephen teases, a big smile on his face. Donna just rolls her eyes, turning to continue whatever task she was doing as Stephen turned back towards his son. “How’s your dad? Is he as much of a mess as we expected him to be?”

“Yeah, yeah he is,” Peter cleared his throat with a slight laugh. His voice was hoarse from not using it a bunch recently, and Stephen’s heart melted a little bit at it. “Nonna is trying to get him to sit and take a breather and Uncle Rhodey is just trying to breathe. So yeah, exactly what you predicted.”

Stephen smiled and shook his head, heart swelling at the thought of his almost-husband anxiously pacing around the room like he knew he was doing. “It’s going to be nice to finally call him my husband,” Stephen said, more under his breath than anything. 

“Pops, you’ve been calling each other ‘husband’ since before I can even remember,” Peter pointed out, a smile wide on his face. 

“Sure, we call each other husband all the time, but that doesn’t change the fact that now I’ll be able to call him my husband without it just being a pet name for each other. I don’t know how to explain it, but I think it’s because we’re making a new chapter together, even if this chapter’s already been written for us. That probably doesn’t make any sense,” Stephen shook his head and looked up at Peter, eyes glowing with how happy he was and a soft smile mirroring that as well. Peter knew what he meant in that moment, his smile explaining it all. 

“It doesn’t make complete sense, but I get what you’re saying. I think I just don’t get it because I’ve never been in love, but I get it at the same time.” Peter walked up to Stephen, hugging him and resting his head on his chest. “I love you, pops.”

Stephen immediately wrapped his arms around Peter, kissing the top of his head and whispering into his curls, “I love you too, Pete.”

Both Donna and Beverly stopped what they were doing to watch the scene in front of them, smiles on their faces at how happy Stephen was in the moment. Donna snuck out her phone, getting a picture of the two while they were unaware. 

That’s when there was a knock on the door, startling Peter as Beverly opened it. Happy was on the other side, here to let Stephen know that Tony was about to walk towards where they would walk down the aisle together. The only thought that was going through Stephen’s head as he followed Happy out of the room was “holy shit, we’re actually about to get married.”

Before he knew it, Stephen was waiting for the cue to walk out of the little hallway where he would finally be reunited with Tony. After a few seconds of waiting, he heard the cue. 

Stephen slowly walked out, looking across to see Tony doing the exact same thing. They each broke out in wide smiles, tearing up a little bit as they saw their soon-to-be-husband. It took everything Stephen had in him not to break out in a run towards the other man, making himself take his time and walk to the middle where they would meet. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” Tony whispered once they were close enough. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold Stephen, but held back.

“You look stunning, darlin’. How did I get so lucky as to end up with a man like you?” Stephen smiled down at him as they turned to walk down the aisle. Wong and Rhodey were waiting for each of them at the end, each of them also having a soft smile. Happy stood in between them, waiting to officially marry them. Tony and Stephen had talked about it, ultimately deciding that it would be best to get married by a friend than find a pastor. They also agreed on the fact that they couldn’t see it being anyone other than Happy. 

Once they got to the end, Rhodey clapped a hand on Tony’s shoulder while Wong just nodded at Stephen. Happy started to talk, but Stephen more or less tuned it out as he stared into Tony’s big doe eyes. He tuned back in once he heard something about the vows though, knowing that he would have to pay attention to actually be able to give his. Happy turned to Tony first, asking if he would like to start. He nodded, taking a deep breath in before he started to speak.

“Stephen, I’ve known that I’m in love with you since high school. We were hanging out together with Rhodey, all of us sitting on the floor and just talking about whatever came to mind. Somehow the topic of Nebraska came up, and with that the topic of how much you missed looking at the stars after moving away. You went on for a little while about how it just wasn’t the same, how it didn’t have the same feeling, and I listened to you talk,” Tony’s eyes shone bright with love as he stopped to take a breath. 

“The more you talked, the harder I fell. By the end of your mini rant, I remember thinking, ‘I need to go on a date with this man.’ So, that night, I spent hours talking to Rhodey, planning what our first date was going to be. Now, it may have taken me six years to finally get the courage to ask, but eventually I got around to it,” he laughed nervously, shifting his weight some before continuing again. “After our date, when we got back to the apartment we shared, I once again made Rhodey plan with me for hours. The only difference being that I was planning on how to propose to you. And in my true fashion, it took me way too long to ask you. I love you mio stella, and I am so damn sorry that it took me so long to finally ask,” Tony laughed lightly, a smile on his face that showed how every ounce of his love was poured into those words. Stephen matched his smile as Happy looked at him, asking him the same thing he asked Tony.

“Well my vows are nowhere near as good as that and now I feel underprepared,” Stephen chuckled, as did some of their family members, before he took a breath and started. “Anthony, I didn’t get the chance to realize that I was in love with you. Donna told me, and then got mad at me for not telling her that we were dating, even though we weren’t yet. But later that night, I laid in bed thinking about everything that Donna told me and I realized she was right. I knew then that I would do anything I could to have you next to me for the rest of our lives,” Stephen stopped to take a breath, watching Tony as he teared up a little bit.

“We have some pretty crazy lives, filled with superheroes and a bunch of unpredictability. But one thing that I always want to be predictable is the fact that I’m going to wake up next to you. I know that that’s not always going to be possible because of both of our jobs, but anything is more than enough for me. But that means you have to actually come out of the lab and sleep first,” Stephen smiled at him widely, everyone laughing as Tony gently grabbed Stephen’s hands.

“As long as you’re there with me, mio stella,” Tony whispered so that only the two of them could hear. He brought Stephen’s hands to his lip’s kissing his scars before bringing their joined hands back down. They stared into each other’s eyes for a second, soft smiles on their faces as they blocked out the rest of the world. They were the only thing that mattered to the other right now, everything else was just too unimportant to matter. 

“Peter, do you have the rings?” Happy broke them out of their trance as he looked at Peter, prompting him to hand the rings to the former bodyguard. Peter’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he reached into his pocket, relief flooding his face as he pulled the rings out. He handed them over to Happy with a sheepish smile before smiling brightly at his dads, turning to walk back towards his seat as he did. Happy handed the opposite rings to each of them before making a “go on” motion as he took a step back. 

Tony brought Stephen’s left hand up, kissing his ring finger lightly before sliding the ring on. The ring was silver with the arc reactor design engraved into it, a blue sapphire embedded in the middle of the design. Stephen didn’t have to see the inside to know that there was an engraving on the inside, already having the words memorized. The one thing they knew about their rings was the engraving, agreeing that it was necessary since it was an important part of their relationship. 

Stephen brought Tony’s hand up next, slipping the gold-bronze metal on his finger, making sure that the engraving of the Eye of Agamotto was facing up, the green sapphire in the middle sparkling in the light. The pair returned to how they were, hands together and hanging between them. The pair were smiling brightly at each other, knowing that there was only one more thing before they were finally husbands. 

Happy saw the anticipation in their eyes, huffing out a small laugh as he stepped forward again. “I now pronounce you husband and husband.”   
  
Tony and Stephen didn’t wait for him to say that they could kiss, immediately launching towards each other into a kiss over-flowing with every emotion that they felt. Tony grabbed the sides of Stephen’s face, bringing him closer as Stephen wrapped one arm around his back, his other hand resting on the side of Tony’s face. They broke apart slightly, staring into each other’s eyes as Tony whispered against his lips, “To the stars and back, mio stella.”

“To the stars and back, darlin’,” Stephen agreed, bringing him into another gentle kiss as he did. They could hear the whoops of their families, but nothing except the feeling of the other’s body and lips pressed against theirs mattered. 

They eventually separated, hugging each other tightly and swaying slightly. Tony pulled back from his husband slightly, opening his arm just as their son barreled into them, hiding his face in their chests as the small family hugged. Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s curls before pressing one to Stephen’s lips, humming softly as he did.

This was everything Tony could ever ask for. He had the perfect husband, the perfect son, the perfect life. There was nothing about it that he would change, not even the fact that he took forever to actually propose. If they had done anything different, who knew where they would be now. Sure, they might already have been married, but they may not have raised Peter together. 

Later that night, as they were getting ready to leave for their honeymoon in Italy the next day, Stephen would end up telling him that he’s glad the way things happened the way that they did too, agreeing that this was the perfect life for them, glad to have found each other when they did. Before they fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, Tony kissed Stephen one more time, once again whispering against his lips, “alle stelle e ritorno, mio marito [to the stars and back, my husband].”

Stephen laughed lightly, melting at Tony calling him husband, even if they already had for years. “To the stars and back, my darling Anthony.”

They each slept calmly that night, wrapped in each other’s arms where the rest of the world didn’t matter, safe from anything that could be thrown at them. As they dreamed, they dreamt of their lives together and everything that’s happened between the pair. For the final time that night, they realized that everything was absolutely perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did ya think about their rings? no shit, it took me about a week to finally come up with what i wanted their rings to look like, and another to write their vows djskdk 
> 
> comment ant lmk what your favorite part was, i’m curious to hear it!

**Author's Note:**

> i should mention that yes, donna and maria are alive. and it doesn’t matter now, but jarvis and anna are alive too. and howard isn’t because i said so
> 
> leave a comment of what you think so far :)


End file.
